The Asia Society India Centre in partnership with Random House India welcomed Raghav Bahl, Founder, Quintillion Media and author of ‘SuperEconomies: America, India, China and the Future of the World’. Bahl was joined in conversation by Adil Zainulbhai, Senior Advisor, McKinsey India and Indrani Bagchi, Diplomatic Editor, The Times of India. The discussion explored Bahl’s vision for the future of the world and India’s prospects as an emerging SuperEconomy.
The evening began with remarks by Raghav Bahl who spoke about his book and his quest to explore the newly conceptualised super economic power structure. Bahl said his last work comparing India and China would be left incomplete without bringing America into consideration. Reflective of this, he chose America, India and China as prospective SuperEconomies of the future as he believes that the trio possess the basic attributes to be recognized as SuperEconomies:
- a sizeable land mass
- youthful demographic
- skilled and industrious workforce with low unemployment rates
- rapid infrastructure growth
- a strong currency
- a robust military with nuclear capabilities
- and appreciation for the value of its soft power to win influence globally.
Bahl asserted that, whether we like it or not, time will bring India and the United States together. That India and America will be “close allies but not clones”. And that the alliance will be cemented purely based on common interest.
The evening’s discussion began with Adil Zainulbhai’s take on Bahl’s vision which is that India should strictly prioritise improving the lives of its people. Zainulbhai pointed out that manufacturing; education; health care; quality of life and building advanced infrastructure were the key areas for India. According to him India’s progress is at a learning curve, and that we must anticipate the ups and downs on the way. Indrani Bagchi contributed the discussion by sharing her expertise in the field of diplomacy.
On Narendra Modi’s one year as Prime Minister, Bahl said it was too early to comment but noted that “it all begins at the beginning”. Optimistic as always, Bahl pointed out that Modi was not a free market liberal and that he believed in improving the quality of the public sector while encouraging the private sector.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)